Yes, Tyler Hilton played a singer on the television show “One Tree Hill.” But his show Wednesday at Allentown’s Crocodile Rock Café showed he’s no actor capitalizing on his fame to be a singer.

Tyler Hilton

Hilton, 28, who played Chris Keller on the show for three seasons in the mid-2000s then returned for the final season that ended this month, sang an hour-long, 11-song set alone on acoustic guitar that was better than most singer-songwriters out there today.

He was certainly no Dylan, but perhaps was as good as Steve Forbert, who he often sounded like, not only in voice, but lyrics and style, as well – raspy and growling, but also melodic, with substantial lyrics.

His set featured seven of the 10 songs from his new album, “Forget The Storm,” released April 3 as his first disc in eight years. And if it was surprising that the crowd of about 120 – largely young and female -- sang along with some of the songs, it shouldn’t be: Several have been featured on “One Tree Hill.”

“OK, sing along – I dig that,” Hilton told the crowd.

That was true of the opening “Kicking My Heels,” and the later “Loaded Gun,” a bluesy, sexy (“this is for the sexually charged among you,” Hilton said) song that was the first one “Chris Keller” sang after returning to “One Tree Hill.” The crowd sang along with both.

But don’t let that discount the songs’ worth. Especially good, perhaps the best of the night, was “You’ll Ask For Me,” which Hilton said he wrote for Season 3 or 4 and which appeared on a “One Tree Hill” soundtrack but otherwise was unreleased until the new disc.

Hilton said he wrote it about the show’s locale of Wilmington, N.C., and a lost love there. With depth of lyrics, including a boiling bitterness, and a strong performance on both voice and guitar, it most resembled Forbert’s best.

Another song from a show soundtrack, a cover of John Waite’s “Missing You,” was nicely textured, as Hilton reared back and sang, ending with a snipped of Paul Young’s “Every Time I Go Away.”

But new non-show songs were good, as well. “Can’t Stop Now,” a look at real-life relationships that Hilton called “my anti-romance song,” had real gravity, and his strap-on harmonica added to its layers.

“Jenny” also was complex, featured both anger (including a well-known expletive) and pleading in its soaring singing. “I Belong” had nice depth, and Hilton’s singing strained and reached.

He even played a song so new it didn’t have a title – the most obvious would be a repeated phrase “Next to You” -- saying he wrote it for an upcoming movie was to pitch it to the filmmakers today.

But clearly most of his audience wasn’t recent converts. “Are you guys ’One Tree Hill’ fans,” he asked, and the responding screams confirmed they were.

More confirmation: They not only knew, but requested, “Ain’t a Thing,” a song from his never-released album “The Storms We Share.” (Which, he said, he wrote while living with Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley). Good thing they did: The song, a Dylanesque, mean and gritty put-down, was one of the night’s best.

But Hilton was nonchalant. With mussed hair and wearing a flannel shirt, he stepped onto stage with a simple, “Hi, friends.”

He joked about being relegated to Crocodile Rock’s Elite Room (“I’d like to thank my buddy for letting me play in his basement tonight,” he said.) About pulling into the venue to see a line around the block only to learn it was for Blood on the Dance Floor and seven other bands upstairs (“I saw they were pierced and had tattoos and said, ‘Those aren’t Tyler Hilton fans.’” And about whether he’d played Allentown before. (He did, headlining the Mayfair festival in 2005).

Hilton split the difference between satisfying old fans and showcasing his new material with his closing two songs. He played his 2004 hit “Kiss On,” sounding his most like Forbert, with the audience clapping and singing along.

And then he played his new single, “Prince of Nothing Charming,” which he called autobiographical and “the most honest song on the record.” It, too, was good, and showed Hilton’s growth over the past eight years, both personally and as a performer.

And then, before an encore could even be considered, two thirds of the crowd ran to Hilton’s merchandise table to wait to meet the TV star.

Tyler I just love your voice. Its has feeling, goes through my body. Its so hard to find people that can really sing that moves my soul. You have a phenomenal voice! I love the music and acoustic too! I will be purchasing your cd's soon (sorry I can't get the vinyl, if its available). Hopefully you're on FB. Thanks for some new awesome music! (To me. I saw you on One Tree Hill). RocknRolln!

Posted By: Denise Orgeron | Oct 25, 2013 2:39:29 PM

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JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.